Team

Harper Wallace

President

Harper, a senior at Columbia Grammar Preparatory School, has played competitive chess since the second grade. During this time, he has consistently been ranked among the top 100 players in the country for his age, reaching a peak rating of 1980. Just this March, he directed his team to victory at the High School Nationals in Chicago, topping the U1900 section himself. Besides chess, Harper also plays club soccer and runs varsity cross country and track.

Bhavya Thakur

Co-Vice President

Bhavya, a junior at Trinity School, has played chess for over 11 years, during which she has collected numerous accolades, consistently achieving top-ten finishes in national tournaments, as well as ranking high in the USCF top player lists for girls her age with a peak rating of 1818. Aside from chess, Bhavya is an avid roboticist, coder, and debater.

Hunter Quirk

Co-Vice President

Hunter, a junior at Hunter College High School, has been playing chess competitively since his introduction to the game in third grade at PS10. In recent years, Hunter has led his school to two consecutive Grade Nationals victories and individually placed 1st U2000 at the 58th Annual New York State Championships, allowing him to reach a peak rating of 1948. His other interests include reading, watching crime dramas, and volunteering for various community service organizations.

Max Chang

Director of Tutoring Program

Max, a junior at Hunter College High School, has been playing chess ever since his kindergarten teacher first introduced the game to him. And in those ten years, he has reached a peak ELO of 2026 and led his grade to four national titles. Beyond the chessboard, Max is a competitive mathematician, powerlifter, and former tennis player, and he intends to concentrate his college studies on quantum computing and psychology.

Maddy Eng

Director of Community Outreach

Maddy, a senior at Trinity School, first began learning chess in elementary school, and has adored and excelled at the game since, putting up incredible performances at local events and continuing to enjoy playing online in her spare time. In addition to that, Maddy enjoys creating digital art, debating, and running track and field.

David Shen

Director of Events

David, a junior at Columbia Grammar Preparatory School, has played competitive chess since elementary school and currently represents his school at national events—many of which they have won! David has a peak rating of 1809 and hopes to reach 2000 USCF by the end of high school. He has been tutoring at NYCCC since 2024.

Dominic Paragua

Director of Marketing & Social Media

Dominic, a senior at Columbia Grammar Preparatory School, holds a peak rating of 2132, thus making him a strong USCF Expert. Dominic is an incredibly versatile player: he sits comfortably within the top 100 for his age in the country—for all time controls! Outside of chess, he enjoys learning new recipes and making YouTube videos.

Spencer Chin

Director of Curriculum

Spencer Chin, a senior at Bronx Science, loves to mentor students in chess—having achieved the National Master title in 2024, he hopes to utilize his experience and empower others to reach higher levels of chess as well! In his free time, Spencer enjoys playing both basketball and badminton, along with content creation.

Michael Li

Editor-in-Chief (Writing Team)

Michael is a junior at Long Island’s Jericho High School. A National Master at thirteen, he has since been crowned a NY state champion, represented the US national team in Brazil and reached a peak USCF of 2258 as the former #6 ranked player in the country. On the side, Michael is a cellist studying at Juilliard as well as an avid Lincoln-Douglas debater and badminton player.

Sophie Zhu

Editor-in-Chief (Writing Team)

Sophie, a senior at Brearley, has been playing chess since she was 7 years old, and is currently in the top 20 for girls aged 17. She has participated in national and international tournaments alike such as the World Cadet Chess Championships in 2019 and the 2022 National K-12 Championship, in which she tied for 15th place. In addition to chess, Sophie also plays soccer and violin.

Kolby Sahin

Editor-in-Chief (Writing Team)

Kolby is a current student at The Roxbury Latin School. He enjoys playing chamber and jazz music, debating, running cross country, pole vaulting for track & field, and playing board #3 on the chess team. He's very excited to be on the NYCCC team, which shares the game of chess with others.

Aiden Teitelman

Director of Funding Operations & Grant Strategy

Aiden Teitelman is a rising senior attending CGPS. He is a USCF Expert chess player whose best chess achievements include winning multiple national team championships in 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as Blitz national titles in 2024 & 2025. He is bilingual in Spanish, and also enjoys gaming, coding, and skiing.  

Kyle Cheung

Director of Institutional Partnerships

Kyle Cheung, a senior at the Bronx High School of Science, has been playing chess competitively for nearly a decade, attaining a peak rating of 2143 and placing within the top 15 at numerous Grade Nationals as well as 2nd overall at the 2024 World Amateur Team Championships! Kyle loves to share his knowledge and experience with students to improve their game. Outside of chess, Kyle plays competitive bowling and table tennis.

Tani Adewumi

Filler

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Eugene Yoo

Founder

Eugene is the founder of NYC Chess Connections. He is a FIDE Master and currently studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a recipient of the US Chess Federation Scholar-Chessplayer Award and the Chessable Research Award. In his free time, Eugene enjoys running and playing the violin.

Ian Nicholson

Chair

Ian is a first-year at Harvard College, where he intends to concentrate in Statistics and History. He is a US Chess Expert who has placed in the top-ten on a city, state, and national level on several occasions, leading his school to multiple state championship. Beyond the board, Ian enjoys playing goalkeeper and is involved in research.

Kelly Gross

Treasurer